U.S. Supreme Court Ends Fight Over Obama-Era Net Neutrality Rules

The U.S. Supreme Court issued a ruling Monday on net neutrality that stops an effort by the Trump administration and the telecommunications industry to take down Obama-era rules aimed at ensuring a free and open Internet, Reuters reports.

The high court rejected a request to throw out a 2016 ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit upholding the Obama-era rules. However, today’s action does not undo the 2017 repeal of the policy.

Today’s ruling “leaves a legal precedent in place that could help net neutrality supporters in any future legal battle if that policy is ever re-introduced,” Reuters reports.

“The Trump administration and the telecom industry had wanted to erase the 2016 ruling even though the Republican-led Federal Communications Commission in December voted to repeal the net neutrality rules. The policy reversal went into effect in June,” the report notes, adding: “The Supreme Court’s brief order noted that three of the court’s conservative justices — Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito and Neil Gorsuch — would have thrown out the appeals court decision. Neither Chief Justice John Roberts nor new Trump appointee Brett Kavanaugh participated in the decision.”